Christmas as Usual brings two different cultures together as Jashan visits Thea’s family in Norway and comes to grips with her family traditions. The film is streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary:
Jashan is Indian and Thea is Norwegian but they have been together long enough that Jashan feels confident proposing to Thea. He makes it Christmas-themed since Thea loves the holiday, and Thea says yes.
She does worry that Jashan doesn’t know her well enough, and to remedy that issue, she invites him to visit her family in Norway and celebrate Christmas with them.
Jashan is excited to make the journey and agrees. When he arrives, he meets Thea’s mother, Anne-Lise, in an awkward exchange after she thought the driver was Thea’s mother.
Thea hadn’t told her family that her boyfriend was Indian, and they were all taken aback. Jashan is fascinated by the inside of Thea’s childhood home and he learns that her father was hugely into Christmas before he passed away a few years ago.
Thea doesn’t want to reveal her engagement to her mother until the perfect moment and convinces Jashan to wait with her. Anne-Lise doesn’t know much about Indian culture, and when she tries to learn about it, she goes overboard.
When Thea’s brother and his family arrive, she reveals to them that she and Jashan are engaged and that she is waiting for the right moment to break the news to her mother.
She feels quite conscious about the fact that Jashan comes from a different culture and that her mother isn’t the most accommodating person. Jashan is very enthusiastic and gives it a good go when trying to fit in with the rest of the family.
Despite his best intentions, many of his actions hamper the age-old Christmas traditions of Thea’s family and this bothers her a little. He prepares a meal for them but their taste buds aren’t used to the high spice level.
Jashan has a difficult time acclimating to the weather and questions the logic behind some of their traditions. As they get closer to Christmas, Thea keeps pushing back the engagement reveal and Jashan becomes more frustrated.
Christmas as Usual ending explained in detail:
Who is Jorgen?
Jorgen is Thea’s next-door neighbor and her ex-boyfriend. They were together for 5 years before they split up and Anne-Lise was quite disappointed to see them end things.
When Jashan and Thea take a while to return from their ski, Anne-Lise sends Jorgen to check up on them, and he gives them a ride back home. That is the first time Jashan finds out that Thea’s ex stays right next door to her.
There is also a picture of them hanging on her staircase wall. He meets them a few times over the next few days and Jashan has some friction with him because of who he is.
What happens at Christmas dinner?
Thea tells Jashan that once Christmas dinner is over, they won’t have to worry about anything else and they can reveal their engagement without any pressure. Thea has been hiding her ring and Jashan notices that.
She explains that she isn’t supposed to wear jewelry with her traditional outfit, but he sees past her excuse. The dinner consists of a lot of dry, bland meat, and Jashan has to get drunk on potato wine to drown it down.
The more drunk he gets, the more he begins to make a scene. After dinner, Jorgen shows up as Santa to hand out presents, and he and Jashan get into a physical altercation which ends with them knocking down the tree.
What happens to Jashan and Thea?
Thea scolds Jashan for his behavior but Jashan tells Thea that she is the one who has been embarrassed about him the whole trip and didn’t back him up when he needed it. He decides to leave early and heads out to the airport.
Thea becomes sad and drinks a lot to deal with her sorrow, and her niece makes her realize how she truly feels. She’s been trying to hold on to the past too much and it affected her relationship with Jashan.
She wants to rectify her mistake but is too drunk to drive out to the airport. Her mother says that she hasn’t had any alcohol so she can drive them.
Thea makes it just in time and asks Jashan to still marry her because she loves him very deeply. They get married and return a year later to once again celebrate Christmas in Norway and this time it goes much better.
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